Doll pullstring-controlled secondary animation

ABSTRACT

An attachment for a spring-driven doll in which a pullstring is provided to wind up the spring, and the subsequent unwinding of the spring controls a primary animation function. The attachment includes a mechanism for being driven exclusively by the string as it is drawn back into the doll during unwinding of the spring, this mechanism in turn controlling a visible secondary animation function, e.g., movement of a car in which the doll is placed or the sitting up of the doll in a carriage.

United States Patent [151 3,653,152 Levine [4 1 Apr. 4, 1972 [541 DOLL PULLSTRING-CONTROLLED 2,829,467 1958 Pagano ....46/l06 SECONDARY ANIMATION 3,061,972 1962 Wigal ..46/l07 Primary Examiner-Louis G. Mancene Assistant Examiner-A. Heinz Attorney-Amster & Rothstein and [57] ABSTRACT An attachment for a spring-driven doll in which a pullstring is provided to wind up the spring, and the subsequent unwinding of the spring controls a primary animation function. The attachment includes a mechanism for being driven exclusively by the string as it is drawn back into the doll during unwinding of the spring, this mechanism in turn controlling a visible secondary animation function, e.g., movement of a car in which the doll is placed or the sitting up of the doll in a carriage.

5 Claims, 12 Drawing Figures PATENTEDAPR 4 972 3653.152

sum 3 OF 3 INVIIN'I'UH. 569 4 0 [5144/5 HY AMM DOLL PULLSTRING-CONTROLLED SECONDARY ANIMATION This invention relates to dolls incorporating spring-driven motors, and more particularly to dolls in which the pullstring used to wind up the motor is utilized during running of the motor to control a secondary animation function.

Spring motors are provided in doll bodies to perform many different functions. For example, a spring motor can be provided to drive a miniature record turntable in a talking" doll. As a pullstring is withdrawn from the doll body by the child, the spring motor is wound up. Upon release of the string the motor spring unwinds, the motor is driven, and the turntable rotates. A stylus in contact with the record on the turntable causes a message to be heard. As the motor spring unwinds, the string is drawn back into the doll body in preparation for another play.

In another doll, namely, that disclosed in the co-pending application of F. Robert Amici and Ralph Bornn, Ser. No. 842,156 filed on July 16, 1969, a spring motor is used to move the head and legs of a doll. When the spring unwinds, the motor rotates a drive shaft. The drive shaft in turn causes the doll head to nod back and forth and the legs to simulate a walking movement.

In general, the string used to wind up the spring motor in prior art dolls serves no other functions. There are some minor exceptions to this rule; for example, in some cases the string has been used to control engagement and disengagement of a stylus and record medium in a talking doll. But even in those cases where the string has been used for some purposes in addition to winding up the spring, the function controlled by the string has been directly related (or a part of) the overall function controlled by the spring motor.

It is an object of my invention to utilize the pullstring of a spring motor, while the pullstring is being drawn into a doll body, to control an auxiliary function unrelated to the main function controlled by the spring motor.

lt is another object of my invention to so utilize the pullstring to effect secondary animation, that is, visible displacement of the doll.

One of the main advantages of the use of the string in this manner is that the same doll can be used in conjunction with many different auxiliary mechanisms, which mechanisms can even be designed long after the doll has been marketed. For example, one mechanism illustrated in the drawings is a miniature car in which the animated doll of the Amici et al. application can be placed. The car does not include a motor of any kind. Instead, the rear wheels are coupled to a capstan around which the string extending out of the doll can be wound. After the string is withdrawn from the doll, a portion of it close to the doll body is wound around the capstan. Only two or three turns of the string around the capstan are required, with the greatest length of string simply hanging loose from the capstan. When the string is released by the child and pulled back into the doll body by the unwinding of the spring, the movement of the string causes the capstan on the car to rotate. This in turn causes the car to moveat the same time that the doll is animated inside the car by the action of the spring motor. Thus a visible secondary animation function is achieved without the provision of a second motor.

In another example shown in the drawings, the same doll is placed in a carriage. The string is extended through a pivoted backplate underneath the doll body. As the string is withdrawn into the doll body after it is released by the child, the string simply passes through a hole in the backplate. However, toward the end of the play when the pullring at the end of the string reaches the backplate, the backplate is raised. This in turn causes the doll to sit up inside the carriage. Again, visible secondary animation is achieved without the provision of an additional motor; the pulling in of the pullstring controls an auxiliary function.

Use of the pullstring in this manner offers great flexibility to the doll manufacturer. The Amici et al doll, for example, has been on the market for some time now. It is contemplated that many different auxiliary mechanisms, in addition to the car and carriage shown in the drawings, can be used in conjunction with this doll. For example, it is contemplated that a merry-go-round and see-saw will be marketed both for use in conjunction with the doll. All that the child will be required to do is to place the doll on either of these two mechanisms, to coil or otherwise position the string around the appropriate auxiliary drive element and to release the string. The auxiliary function is achieved without the need for an additional motor in the auxiliary mechanism.

It is a feature of my invention to provide an attachment capable of powering visible animation by action of the string as it is drawn into the doll body during operation of a spring motor, initially wound by withdrawing the string from the doll body, which controls a primary animation function.

Further objects, features and advantages of my invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following detailed description in conjunction with the drawing, in which:

FIGS. 1-5 depict a first illustrative use of a doll pullstring in accordance with the principles of my invention, namely, to drive a car in which the doll is placed, with FIG. 1 showing the doll as it is seated in the car;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken through the line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 2 and shows the underside of the car driven by the pullstring;

FIGS. 4 and 5 show how the car can be driven in either direction depending upon the direction in which the pullstring is coiled around a drive capstan on the car;

FIG. 6 is the same as FIG. 6 in the above-identified Amici et al. application and depicts the construction of the doll shown in the other figures of the drawings;

FIGS. 712 depict a second illustrative use of a doll pullstring in accordance with the principles of my invention, namely, to cause the doll to sit up in a carriage, with FIG. 7

' showing the doll in its laying position in the carriage;

FIG. 8 depicts the doll in its sitting position, achieved at the end of the pulling of the string into the doll body;

FIG. 9 depicts the linkage involved in the movement of the doll from its laying position to its sitting position as the string is drawn into the doll body at the end of the motor cycle;

FIGS. 10 and 11 are sectional views showing the doll in its respective laying and sitting positions; and

FIG. 12 is a partial top perspective view of the carriage with its hood removed.

In FIG. I doll 16 is shown seated in car 18. The doll itself is only illustrative of many pullstring-operated dolls. The particular doll used to illustrate my invention is shown in greater detail in FIG. 6, which figure is essentially the same as the same-numbered figure in the above-identified Amici et al application. A motor 32, within the doll body, drives shaft 34. The upper end of the shaft is bent slightly and terminated in a doll head (not shown in FIG. 6). As the shaft is rotated by the motor, the doll head rotates as shown by arrow 20 in FIG. 1. The bottom part of shaft 34 drives a crank, which in turn causes the legs of the doll to simulate a walking motion. The details of the operation of the Amici et al doll are not important for an understanding of the present invention. What is important for the present purpose is the function of pullstring 22 which terminates in pullring 26 (see FIG. 1). When the string is pulled out of the doll, the spring motor 32 is wound up. When the string is released, the motor spring unwinds to drive shaft 34. At the same time that the spring unwinds, string 22 is pulled back into the doll. When the pullring strikes against the doll body, the string can no longer be pulled into the doll, and the motor spring ceases to unwind. The string serves no purpose in the Amici et al doll other than to wind up the motor Spring.

The car 18 is shown most clearly in FIGS. 2 and 3. The car body includes a main section 18a and a section 18b which sits on top of it. Section includes two holes 18a and 18a" through which shaft 280 passes. At one end of the shaft there is provided a capstan 2811 which rests on body section 18a and extends through hole 18b. At the top of capstan 2811 there is a wheel 280 whose function is simply to insure that string 22 is wound around the capstan as shown by turns 22' in FIG. 2. At the lower end of shaft 28c there is a drive gear 44, the undersurface of which includes a plurality of radial ridges 44, shown most clearly in FIG. 3.

Two shafts 40, 42 are secured to the car body in any conventional manner. To the front shaft 40 there are attached two wheels 36 which are free-rolling. The two rear wheels 38 are fixed to shaft 42. As shown in FIG. 3, rubber wheel 46 is mounted on shaft 42 for engagement with the undersurfaee of drive gear 44. It is apparent that as shaft 28c is rotated, rubber disc 46 and shaft 42 rotate in a direction which depends on the direction of rotation of the shaft 280 With the doll seated in the car as shown in FIG. 2, after the string is fully withdrawn from the doll it is wrapped around capstan 28b When the string is released by the child, the doll starts to move within the car as a result of the action of motor 32 and shaft 34. At the same time, string 24 is drawn into the doll body as shown by arrow 24. But because the string is coiled around capstan 28b, as the string is drawn into the doll body the capstan rotates. The frictional drive of rubber disc 46 causes the car to move at the same time that the doll moves within the car.

The direction of the car movement is determined by the direction in which the string is wound around the capstan, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. In each of these figures the rear of the car is shown and the view is from above. When string 22 is coiled around capstan 28b as shown in FIG. 4, as the string is drawn back into the doll body the capstan rotates in the clockwise direction as shown by arrow 50. This in turn results in movement of the car in the forward direction as shown by arrow 48. On the other hand, if the string is wound around the capstan in the other direction as shown in FIG. 5, the capstan rotates in the counter-clockwise direction as shown by arrow 52, and the car moves in the reverse direction as shown by arrow 54.

The embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. 7-12 entails the use of a doll such as the Amici et al doll in a specially constructed carriage 72. The carriage, for the most part, is of conventional construction. It includes a hood 721), a main body section 72c and a wheel assembly 723. The additional features are seen most clearly in the cross-section views of FIGS. 10 and 11. Toward the rear of the carriage there is provided a seat 72:2 for the legs of the doll, as well as a pair of hooks 72a for securing the doll legs inside the carriage, as shown most clearly in the perspective views of FIGS. 7 and 8. The doll carriage also includes a back plate 74 which is provided with two lugs 76 as seen most clearly in FIG. 12. On each side of the carriage there is a lug holder 72f for holding the bottom of the plate 74 in place. The back plate is capable of movement between the two extreme positions shown in FIGS. 10 and 11.

At the top of the back plate there is provided a slot 78b and hole 780, as shown most clearly in FIG. 12. This construction allows the string to be inserted in the slot and held in the hole as it is drawn back and forth into and out of the doll. The hole is small enough, however, to block pullring 26 as shown in FIG. 11.

FIG. 12 shows the enlarged slot 72d in the carriage body. The slot is large enough to permit pulling of ring 26 through it. In actual play of the device, the child initially finds the doll in the position shown in FIGS. 8 and 11. Hood 72b, which can be mounted for pivotal movement on the carriage body as in an ordinary carriage, can be moved in the counter-clockwise direction in order for the child to gain access to pullring 26 so that string 22 can be pulled toward the front of the carriage. As the string is withdrawn from the doll body, the doll is pulled backwards and plate 74 is moved to the position shown by the solid lines of FIG. 12. Before releasing the string, the child insures that it is within hole 780 and that it passes through slot 72:! in the carriage body. (Before actually releasing the string, hood 72b can be pushed back to the position shown in the drawing so that at the end of the drawing in of the string the doll will sit up in the carriage with the hood in its normal position.)

As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, string 22 extends out of the hole 16a in the doll body. When the doll is in the reclining position of FIG. 10, the string extends along the back plate 74 through hole 78a and slot 72a in the carriage body. When the child first releases the string, it is drawn into the doll body at which time the doll moves within the carriage to simulate the movement of a small child. Toward the end of the motor operation, pullring 26 reaches the carriage body but passes through slot 72d. The ring then strikes back plate 74. The spring motor continues to unwind and continues to draw the string into the doll body. The force exerted by the pullring on the rear of the back plate causes the back plate to rotate in the counter-clockwise direction. As the back plate rotates, it forces the doll to sit up.

It is apparent that as the back plate rotates and the doll sits up, the doll moves relative to the back plate until it reaches the terminal position of FIG. 11 in which hole in the doll body is adjacent hole 78a in the back plate. From the time that the pullring first strikes the back plate there is a section of the string extending along the back plate between hole 16a in the doll body and hole 78a in the back plate. It is this length of string which is thereafter drawn into the doll body as the back plate moves and the doll sits up. When the doll is finally in the position of FIG. 11, there is no more string left to be drawn into the doll body and all motion ceases.

FIG. 9 is a symbolic representation of the linkage involved in the movement of the doll from its reclining position to its sitting position. Doll pivot A in the drawing represents the seat of the doll in the carriage. Although no point on the seat is perfectly stationary, it is apparent from an inspection of FIGS. 10 and 11 that there is limited movement of the seat of the doll so that for explanatory purposes it may be assumed that there is a fixed pivot around which the doll body moves in the carriage. Back rest pivot B in FIG. 9 represents lugs 76 of the back plate. Line BE represents the back plate or rest itself, while line A-F represents the doll from its seat to its head. Initially, the top of the back plate supports the head of the doll as shown in FIG. 10 and represented by point E in FIG. 9. Point D in FIG. 9 represents the notch and hole 78 in the back plate, and point C represents the eyelet or hole in the doll body through which the string extends. Although not shown in FIG. 9, it is to be understood that the string extends out of eyelet C and through notch or hole D. as shown in FIG. 10.

The linkage does not move until pullring 26 passes through slot 72d in the carriage body and bears against notch D in the back rest. At this time the force of the ring on the back plate causes it to move around pivot B in the counter-clockwise direction. The top of the back plate, bearing against the rear of the doll head, causes the doll to similarly move in the counter-clockwise direction. As the plate and the doll both move, the contact they make with each other changes. It is for this reason that point E is designated as a sliding contact. Line B-E represents the back rest in its up position while line A-F represents the doll in its sitting position. When the doll is in its sitting position, there is still a force, represented by the arrow through points C (eyelet) and D (back rest notch), which gives rise to a counter-clockwise torque. However, when the doll is in its sitting position, the two pivots A and B, and the sliding contact E form a linkage such that if further counterclockwise rotation were to continue, the length of the string between notch D and eyelet C would increase. This, of course, cannot happen because in effect it would require the spring motor to wind itself up at the same time that it unwinds. Consequently, everything comes to rest as shown in FIGS. 9 and 11.

Although my invention has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous modifications may be made therein and other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

1. Apparatus for controlling a primary animation function of a doll and a secondary animation function of a support for the doll, comprising a doll, a spring motor mounted within said doll, a pullstring having a portion for external withdrawal from said doll and operatively connected to said spring motor to wind up said spring motor and adapted to be drawn back into said doll when released to allow operation of said motor, a mechanism driven by said spring motor for controlling a primary animation of function of said doll while said spring motor operates, a support for said doll, means for producing visible secondary animation of said support, said producing means being mounted on said support and adapted to be driven by said string as said string is being drawn into said doll.

2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said support includes a car in which said doll may be seated, said car including a plurality of wheels, and wherein said producing means includes a rotatable capstan coupled to at least some of said wheels for imparting motion to said car when it is rotated, said capstan being positioned relative to the seating position of said doll in said car such that said string can be wound around said capstan for rotating said capstan as said string is drawn back into the doll.

3. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said support includes a carriage for holding said doll, and wherein said producing means includes a plate positioned in said carriage such that it supports the upper part of said doll and is capable of rotation around a pivot in the vicinity of the seat of said doll, said plate including a hole through which said string can be extended, said string including a pullring at the end thereof for bearing against said plate as said string is drawn back into said doll.

4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said producing means includes a rotatable capstan around which said string can be wound for rotating said capstan as said string is drawn back into the doll.

5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said producing means includes movable means having a hole therein through which said string can be extended, said string including a pullring at the end thereof for bearing against said movable means as said string is drawn back into said doll. 

1. Apparatus for controlling a primary animation function of a doll and a secondary animation function of a support for the doll, comprising a doll, a spring motor mounted within said doll, a pullstring having a portion for external withdrawal from said doll and operatively connected to said spring motor to wind up said spring motor and adapted to be drawn back into said doll when released to allow operation of said motor, a mechanism driven by said spring motor for controlling a primary animation of function of said doll while said spring motor operates, a support for said doll, means for producing visible secondary animation of said support, said producing means being mounted on said support and adapted to be driven by said string as said string is being drawn into said doll.
 2. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said support includes a car in which said doll may be seated, said car including a plurality of wheels, and wherein said producing means includes a rotatable capstan coupled to at least some of said wheels for imparting motion to said car when it is rotated, said capstan being positioned relative to the seating position of said doll in said car such that said string can be wound around said capstan for rotating said capstan as said string is drawn back into the doll.
 3. AppAratus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said support includes a carriage for holding said doll, and wherein said producing means includes a plate positioned in said carriage such that it supports the upper part of said doll and is capable of rotation around a pivot in the vicinity of the seat of said doll, said plate including a hole through which said string can be extended, said string including a pullring at the end thereof for bearing against said plate as said string is drawn back into said doll.
 4. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said producing means includes a rotatable capstan around which said string can be wound for rotating said capstan as said string is drawn back into the doll.
 5. Apparatus in accordance with claim 1 wherein said producing means includes movable means having a hole therein through which said string can be extended, said string including a pullring at the end thereof for bearing against said movable means as said string is drawn back into said doll. 